Launceston Place at Taste of London

I was determined to have some suckling pig at Taste of London. I tried Fino first, but the queue was outrageous, so I fled. I just hate queueing and will go to the restaurant instead. I was keen to try Launceston Place, so popped over to their stand, and there I spied a little piggy, a very small one on a rotisserie.

Suckling Pig! I was excited. Except there wasn’t any to be had, except that tiny one on a spit. Come back in an hour they said. I spied a little table nearby and in the interim had some very good goose egg and chips, the goose egg was beaten and runny, and poured on top of the shoestring chips. It was lovely.

Time for dessert ahead of mains. I couldn’t resist the strawberries with champagne and clotted cream. I even had a second one. This may explain why I was starting to confuse myself and poor Tristan Welch, not being able to comprehend crown amounts, or how many I needed to pay him. He said with humour, “I don’t know, I am a chef”, I replied, confused and laughing “I am clearly not a mathematitian”. I wonder if I would have been as patient, with myself. I suspect that I wouldn’t have been.

It was now 20 minutes to suckling pig, and people were gathering. I was determined to have a piece of this critter so made my intentions known. Timings were confused – one told me 20 minutes, another told me 5. 5 proved to be true, and I watched Tristan Welch pop back to the kitchen, and remove the piggy from his oven home.

Excited I waited, then watched them run past! Wielding their tiny suckling pig on the spit, they ran around chanting “Last pig from Launceston Place!”. I got nervous! This was the smallest suckling pig that I have ever seen, perhaps a third of the size of the one that we had at St John. I ran after them, and followed them back, watched them remove it from the spit, carve it, slice the truffle, and then received my piggy portion.

Encased in brioche, the juicy suckling pig and wafer thin slices of truffle were heavenly. Occasional snaps of crackling, and hefty with aroma, this was all too brief an indulgence. It was delicious.

Perfect festival food, the turnaround was quick, the flavours immense, and I wanted more of everything. Next step will be to check out the restaurant. And to roast a suckling pig of my own.